SC acquits woman accused of killing her newborn child, says no conclusive proof

The Supreme Court has acquitted a woman convicted by a trial court for killing her newborn child whom she had allegedly conceived following her physical relations with a covillager saying there was no conclusive proof to establish her guiltThe top court said sentencing someone to life imprisonment requires due appreciation of evidence and it cannot be done mechanically and in a perfunctory mannerA bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Karol said thrusting upon a woman the guilt of having killed a child without any proper evidence simply because she was living alone in a village reinforces the cultural stereotypes and gendered identitiesThe right to privacy is inviolable Unfortunately the view taken and the language adopted by both the courts below lays to waste such a right inherent in the convictappellant It is apparent that the guilt has been placed on her without any solid foundation thereto since no relationship of any nature whatsoever could be established between her and the deceased child discovered in the dabriThe conclusion drawn is simply on the basis that the convictappellant was a woman living alone and had been pregnant as admitted in the statement under section 313 CrPC the top court saidIt added that it is entirely within the realm of a womans privacy to decide whether or not to bear a child or abort her pregnancy within the framework of lawIt is a matter of record that none of the witnesses has seen the convictappellant throwing the deceased child into the dabri As hitherto observed no conclusive proof of any nature of relationship had been put forth by the prosecution no evidence has been led to cast doubt upon the version of the convictThe statement of the doctor is silent on the death of the deceased having occurred prior to or after birth although in examinationinchief the doctor has deposed that the death of the deceased child was homicidal in nature However in the crossexamination it is admitted that such a fact does not form part of the record thereby calling into question the conclusion itself as it is a vital piece of information that has been omitted the apex court observedIt said having considered the gaps in the prosecutions case it cannot agree with the courts below that the circumstances conclusively point to the guilt of the convictGiven the foregoing discussion we find the conviction recorded against the convictappellant to be entirely based on mere presumption with the actual evidence on record failing to establish the prosecution case much less beyond a reasonable doubtWe are constrained to observe that the high court has confirmed the view of the trial court awarding life imprisonment without supplying any cogent reasons the bench saidThe top court was hearing a plea filed by the woman challenging a 2010 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court that upheld her conviction and life sentenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever